A parish councillor accused of involvement in the booby trap has resigned with immediate effect. The ancient proverb goes that a cat has nine lives - but poor Suki looks like she doesn’t have many left after startling footage showed the 11-year-old tabby surviving an explosion on a bird table. The video of the incident in the Northamptonshire village of Whittlebury shows the cat entering the free-standing bird table before an apparent explosive device forced her to make a quick exit.
![[Footage shows the cat exploring the bird table before the explosion in April 2023]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/11/14/37/cat1.png)
Fortunately, the cat only suffered singed whiskers and now has a far less trusting disposition, her owner, Nikki Elam, said. In its statement, the council said: “We are aware of the recent media coverage regarding an alleged incident involving one of our parish councillors. The incident in question, which reportedly took place in 2023, was investigated at the time by Northamptonshire Police who decided to not take any further action.”.
![[Suki’s owner warned others in the village of Whittlebury over the incident]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/11/14/16/cat3.png)
“It is important to clarify that this incident occurred in a private capacity and not in any official capacity as a councillor. “Whittlebury Parish Council does not have the authority to remove a councillor from their position. According to the law, a councillor can only be disqualified if they have received a criminal conviction and a custodial sentence exceeding three months. “We understand the concerns raised by the community and want to assure everyone that we take all matters of animal welfare seriously. We can confirm that councillor Garnor resigned from the council on Friday 7th February 2025, with immediate effect.”.
Ms Elam said Suki had been traumatised by the incident, which happened in the garden of a property in the village’s High Street on 9 April 2023. “But somebody contacted me to tell me it wasn’t what I thought it was, that somebody had actually blown my cat up. It made me feel physically sick.”. Northamptonshire Police investigated the incident and confirmed no criminal charges were brought. “The owner of the cat was updated throughout the investigation and was advised of this outcome.”.
